Archives for June 2024

Washington AI Network Hosts Presidential Debate Watch Party

June 28, 2024 By WHC Insider

*General Catalyst’s Teresa Carlson, actress Lynda Carter, and Rep. Debbie Dingell attend the Washington AI Network’s presidential debate watch party on Thursday, June 27.*

Washington AI Network founder Tammy Haddad and Teresa Carlson, General Catalyst Advisor, hosted a presidential debate watch party at the House at 1229 on June 27th. The exclusive gathering brought together a diverse array of Washington D.C.’s most influential figures including politicians, diplomats, policy experts and media personalities. Notable government officials included United States Rep. Debbie Dingell, French Ambassador to the United States Laurent Bili and Irish Ambassador to the United States Geraldine Byrne Nason.

*Lynda Carter, Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, and French Ambassador Laurent Bili*

The evening began with a cocktail reception, allowing guests to interact and share their perspectives on the key issues at stake. As the history making debate commenced, attendees took to their seats in front of an oversized screen and watched in anticipation as this historic and pivotal moment in American politics unfolded

*Joanna Ain, Maryam Mujica, Tammy Haddad, Rep. Debbie Dingell, and Ashley Callen*

Also in attendance were Speaker Johnson’s general counsel Ashley Callen; General Catalyst’s Maryam Mujica; The Washington Post’s Amanda Katz and Kathy O’Hearn; American actress/singer Lynda Carter; Amazon’s Steve Hartell, Shannon Kellogg, Jennifer Prescott, and Olivia Igbokwe; Lara Tennyson from Booking Holdings; Miriam Vogel, NAIAC chair and CEO of EqualAI; Helen Toner, Director of Strategy and Foundational Research Grants at CSET; Amy Sennett, Senior Vice President at Karat; Troy Perry, Director of Policy & Advocacy at Omydiar Network; Victoria Espinel, CEO of BSA; Sydney Harvey, Advisor for Public Engagement at The White House; and Pascal Confavareux from the French Embassy.

Bloomberg’s Justin Sink elected to WHCA board, to serve as president in 2026

June 27, 2024 By WHC Insider

Justin Sink, photo courtesy of the White House Correspondents’ Association.

Justin Sink, White House correspondent for Bloomberg News, has been elected to the White House Correspondents’ Association’s board of directors and will serve as WHCA president in 2026.

Sink has covered the White House since 2012 across three presidential administrations, and previously covered presidential politics and campaigns for The Hill newspaper in Washington, DC.

The elections took place on Wednesday, June 26 to fill three seats on the WHCA’s board, each for a 3-year term. Sink will serve as an at-large member of the board from 2024-2027, and he will assume the top post as WHCA president from 2026-2027.

Karen Travers from ABC News will assume the radio seat for 2024-2027, and Trevor Hunnicut of Reuters won the wire seat for the same term.

Founded in 1914, the WHCA exists to promote excellence in journalism as well as journalism education, and to ensure robust news coverage of the president and the presidency.

The inaugural White House Correspondents’ Dinner took place on May 7, 1921, after President Warren G. Harding revived the presidential news conference, and the tradition continues to this day. Read more about the WHCA’s history here.

Washington Women Technology Network Hosts Election Preview With CBS News’ Robert Costa

June 20, 2024 By WHC Insider

*Sumi Somaskanda, Jessica Nigro and Michelle Freeman listen to CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa discuss the 2024 presidential election* at *Washington Woment Technology Network breakfast hosted by Nigro and Tammy Haddad on June 18.*

Washington Women Technology Network founder Tammy Haddad and Jessica Nigro, vice president of external affairs at Lucid Motors, hosted a 2024 election preview breakfast at the House at 1229 on June 18 featuring a conversation with Robert Costa, the chief election and campaign correspondent at CBS News.

Costa shared his experience on the campaign trail and discussed the strategic considerations and challenges the Biden and Trump campaigns face leading up to November’s presidential election.

“This election is not so much about Trump versus Biden, it’s about who is going to get their core voters to come out in these key battleground states,” said Costa.

*Reema Dodin, Sen. Brian Schatz’s chief of staff, Deputy Irish Ambassador Orla Keane, Jessica Nigro and Uber’s senior vice president of marketing and public affairs Jill Hazelbaker Franks*

Costa also said the Biden administration’s efforts to engage labor unions are critical to his campaign, called North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum “very well positioned” to be Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, and discussed whether the former president would show up to the first presidential debate this month.

Guests included Monumental Sports partner and Carl M. Freeman Companies CEO Michelle Freeman; Jill Hazelbaker Franks, senior vice president of marketing and public affairs at Uber; General Catalyst’s Teresa Carlson and Maryam Mujica; Tina Anthony, senior vice president of marketing and communications at the NobleReach Foundation; Sen. Mitt Romney’s chief of staff Liz Johnson; Sen. Brian Schatz’s chief of staff Reema Dodin; Sen. Mark Warner’s chief of staff Elizabeth Falcone; Betsy Fischer Martin, executive director of American University’s Women & Policy Institute; Muriel Chase, the director of broadcast media the White House; Julissa Marenco, GlobalWIN founder Helen Milby; BBC Washington anchor Sumi Somaskanda; YouTube’s head of public policy Alexandra Veitch; former first lady Michelle Obama’s communications director Crystal Carson; Irish Deputy Ambassador Orla Keane; Lyft’s head of global public policy Heather Foster; and Washington Post Live executive producer Kathy O’Hearn.

*Tina Anthony, senior vice president of marketing and communications at the NobleReach Foundation, and Heather Foster, head of global public policy at Lyft*

*Co-hosts Tammy Haddad and Jessica Nigro with Robert Costa at the House at 1229*

Washington AI Network Hosts David Ignatius for “Haippy Hour”

June 10, 2024 By WHC Insider

FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 2024

**David Ignatius** (left) and Washington AI Network founder **Tammy Haddad** (right) pose for a selfie with guests at the Washington AI Network’s “Ask David Anything” event on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the House at 1229.

Tammy Haddad and the Washington AI Network hosted special guest David Ignatius for a Washington AI Network “Haippy Hour” on Friday, June 7th with an audience that included Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, her husband, Danylo Volynets, and former California Congresswoman Jane Harman. The event kicked off with Haddad interviewing David Ignatius, the renowned Washington Post columnist and bestselling novelist. Ignatius’s new spy thriller, Phantom Orbit, details how wars have moved to space using technology like satellites and drones. The backdrop of the novel is the war in Ukraine, which Ignatius calls “the first space war.”

The novel also depicts how the relationship between the rapid progression of technologies and global tensions that are consistently developing, can cause various prospective outcomes.

Guests included:

Government officials Nicoletta Giordani, acting principal director of the Office of Global Investment and Economic Security at the Department of Defense, Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and Justin Fanelli, CTO of the Department of the Navy.

Also in attendance were Congressional staff AI leaders in Congress; Jon Cardinal, Ali Biasotti, Tim Ryder, and Corry Schiermeyer, as well as tech executives, Steve Hartell from Amazon, Jackie Rooney from Meta, and Govind Shivkumar from Omidyar Network.

Victoria Virasingh from Noble Reach Foundation and Monica Holt from the Kennedy Center, Invariant CEO Heather Podesta, and Dimitri Alperovitch and Maureen Hinman from Silverado were also all at the event.

**Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova** (center) and husband **Danylo Volynets** exchange “A History of Ukraine” book with **David Ignatius** (right) for his new bestseller “Phantom Orbit.”

**Tammy Haddad** poses with **Govind Shivkumar**, Omydiar Network’s Director of Responsible Technology

L to R: **Nicoletta Giordani**, acting principal director, Office of Global Investment and Economic Security (GIES); CISA director **Jen Easterly**, and Silverado Policy Accelerator co-chairs **Maureen Hinman** & **Dmirtri Alperovitch**

The audience was invited to“Ask David anything” hearing his latest reporting on Gaza, Ukraine and other host spots around the world. The event concluded with a book signing by David Ignatius.